"No, the Tang Sect can't just disappear like this. It's the work of our hearts and hands. Even if Ancestor Tang San came down here, I still wouldn't allow it."
"Then why not just keep up with the times?" Ji Siyuan thought Tang Ya's idea was strange.
Bei Bei said, "The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools are simply too powerful. There's no way we can catch up."
"If we admit defeat in our hearts, then we've truly lost."
Those words jolted the two of them awake.
They immediately cried, "That's right! Why shouldn't we be able to catch up? We can do it!"
Watching this, Tang San felt comforted. This was what it meant to be worthy of the Tang Sect.
Tang Ya asked Ji Siyuan to demonstrate a few Tang Sect techniques. Seeing how skilled he was, she immediately offered to hand over the position of Tang Sect Master.
"Uh, how about I just become a Supreme Elder? I'd better not take over as sect master for now."
Tang Ya said, "A Supreme Elder, huh? Siyuan, you really know how to avoid taking a loss."
Tang San said, "You brat, you just want to sit back and enjoy yourself, don't you?"
"There's no point in me becoming sect master. I didn't come here to learn how to make Soul Tools."
He just needed to become a god—and he really could become one—so he naturally had no need for something like this.
Tang San fell silent. Ji Siyuan really did need to devote all his energy to cultivation. Learning how to make Soul Tools wouldn't do him much good.
Bei Bei laughed. "Our little sect has a sect master and a Supreme Elder, but I'm the only one doing any work!"
The three of them all burst out laughing.
Tang Ya suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! Bei Bei, hurry and have Siyuan test his Innate Soul Power."
Ji Siyuan placed his palm on the crystal ball. It blazed with light. "Innate Full Soul Power? This is Innate Full Soul Power?"
"Wonderful! We can go to the Star Dou Great Forest to get our Soul Rings, then head back to Shrek."
At eleven or twelve, he was just the right age to enter Shrek. With a special admission slot, he was guaranteed to get in.
They'd planned everything perfectly—but they weren't the only ones waiting for them.
The destiny Ji Siyuan carried wasn't from this world. He bore the hopes of another Divine Realm.
So Bei Bei and Tang Ya hadn't appeared here for his sake.
"What a Daughter of Destiny. She belongs in my Tang Sect, where I can put her to use!" In the Divine Realm, God King Tang schemed against all things, setting his sights on the destiny carried by the Daughter of Destiny.
"Once you join my Tang Sect, you'll never escape my grasp."
God King Tang threw back his head and roared. He had divided his daughter into three parts for the sole purpose of capturing the Daughter of Destiny.
But the God King's plans fell through, because no one had ever said the Daughter of Destiny had to be male. The Douluo Plane had chosen a Daughter of Destiny.
Someone sat beside a campfire, reflecting on the life they'd lived. "Because I'm a girl, my mother had to suffer such treatment."
"From now on, I won't use the surname Dai. I'm not a girl, and I'm not called Yutong. I'm Huo Yuhao! I'll become the strongest, and I'll take revenge on Duke White Tiger."
Their life changed drastically from that moment on.
"Hey, hey! Hurry up, you guys. The smell's getting stronger!"
Tang Ya quickly led them to the source of the delicious aroma. Huo Yuhao was grilling fish.
"Um, could we buy a few fish from you? We can pay."
Ji Siyuan couldn't help laughing. They hadn't even asked whether he knew how to cook.
As a good student of the Ice and Fire Magic Chef, he wasn't just a food connoisseur—he was a good cook, too.
Huo Yuhao said, "Go ahead and eat. You don't have to pay."
"How could we do that? Bei Bei, go catch a few more fish."
"Yes, Xiao Ya."
Tang Ya sat down with the ease of an old friend and introduced the three of them.
"My name is Huo Yuhao." He repeated it again and again, hinting that he was Huo Yuhao, not Dai Yutong.
Ji Siyuan kept his expression neutral, but he already knew in his heart: this was the Daughter of Destiny, the one blessed with Heaven's Mandate.
Tang San called out from within his Sea of Consciousness, "What powerful destiny! This little girl is no ordinary person."
"She really does seem extraordinary." Ji Siyuan suddenly realized something. "Wait, a little girl? Uncle, don't joke around. Isn't this a boy?"
Tang San laughed. "Look at those delicate features. No boy would look like that. Your uncle has seen girls disguise themselves as boys before, and they were much more convincing than this."
"Was it the God of Angels you were rumored to be involved with?"
"Don't talk nonsense! I never said anything like that." Tang San immediately stopped Ji Siyuan from saying more.
"So it was her. When we get back, I'm telling Aunt Xiao Wu." Ji Siyuan seized on a tiny bit of leverage.
"Stop fooling around. Want your Uncle Tang to help you pursue this little girl? With destiny this powerful, winning her over would speed up your growth, too."
Ji Siyuan was a little confused. "Is my destiny that weak?"
"You carry the hopes of the entire Divine Realm. Your destiny should be even stronger."
"Then why should I covet hers?"
Tang San fell silent for a moment. "Because you need to get stronger. Winning her over would make you stronger very quickly."
"Wow, Uncle Tang, that one sentence made the mood so heavy." Ji Siyuan laughed, cutting Tang San off. "Uncle Tang, give it some time. Then I'll tell you why not."
While they waited for the fish to cook, Bei Bei caught several more.
They skewered them and started grilling.
Huo Yuhao did most of the work, but Ji Siyuan lent a hand, too.
His technique was polished, and he had an even better sense of the fire than Huo Yuhao.
The others stared at him in surprise. "Siyuan, you know how to do this, too?"
Huo Yuhao said, "You seem even better at it than I am."
"I have a teacher who specializes in this, but I didn't study properly."
Expecting him to take cooking seriously at this age was pure fantasy. Rong Nianbing had spent a lot of time coaxing him into learning.
Ji Siyuan said, "The technique could be better, and the fish isn't the best quality, either. We need some spices to cover the taste, but it's a shame we don't have any."
He turned the fish over and kept grilling it.
He handed a cooked fish to Huo Yuhao. "I borrowed your things, so you should be the first to eat this one."
Huo Yuhao took it, looking a little lost. "Thank you."
Tang Ya was drooling on the side. The four of them dug in.
Huo Yuhao stood up. "I'm leaving first. Remember to clean up after yourselves later."
"Okay," Tang Ya replied at once. Huo Yuhao headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Is he going to get a Soul Ring alone?" Ji Siyuan asked, watching Huo Yuhao's departing figure.
Bei Bei said, "Then let's hurry over as soon as we finish eating. It's dangerous for him to go alone."
Ji Siyuan knew that Huo Yuhao's opportunity had arrived.
"Uncle Tang, should I steal his opportunity? But I feel like I won't be able to."
"This world should have arranged opportunities meant specifically for the Daughter of Destiny. It's normal that you can't take them. But don't underestimate yourself, either. You're no worse than anyone else."
Ji Siyuan tidied up the campfire and decided to go after him.
After all, the script he'd seen had already changed.
"Hopefully nothing dangerous happens."